Message 2

The
Book of books

The
Bible is the Book of books. In the following paragraphs is a brief study of the
indispensability and profitability of the Bible taught and demonstrated by
Christ Jesus in the four gospels.

The
very name of Jesus is "The Word of God" (Rev 19:13). The Baby Jesus
was conceived in the womb of Mary when she submitted herself to the Word of God
(Lk 1:38). The Boy Jesus even forgot about His parents when He got engrossed in
the study of the Scriptures (Lk 2:42-49). The Man Jesus loved the Word so much
that He said, "My mother and My brothers are those who hear the Word of God
and obey it" (Lk 8:21). The crucified Jesus even on the cross was mindful
to fulfill the Scriptures (Jn 19:28). John Bunyan the author of Pilgrimís
Progress learnt this secret from Jesus and said, "I was never out of my
Bible!" So be it in our lives.

Our
Daily Bread

The
first recorded reference to the Scriptures by Christ is Matthew 4:4, "Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of
God." It is actually a quotation from the Old Testament (Dt 8:3). In these
words Moses explained to the people that just like the daily manna, the Word of
God was a must for living.

One
who embraced this truth and experienced it in his life was Job. He expressed,
"I have treasured the words of Godís mouth more than my necessary
food" (Job 23:12). For Job it was a necessity, but for us it is just a
nicety! Do we ever forget to eat? But how many days we forget to feed on the
Word! Most backsliding is because of a lack of Bible reading. Unless our inner
man is strengthened daily, we will become susceptible to spiritual ills.

While
the Word of God is bread for the soul, it also means health to our bodies. Jesus
spoke the Word and healed the sick (Mt 8:8,16). God sent His Word and healed the
people of Israel (Psa 107:20). His Word has the same power today. "My Son,
give attention to My words... For they are life to those who find them, and
health to all their flesh" (Prov 4:20-22).

The
Word of God is also food for the mind. The enthusiastic study of the Word gave
Jesus wisdom beyond His years (Lk 2:47,52). Davidís experience was just the
same. He testified, "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for
Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because
I keep Your precepts" (Psa 119:99,100). Yes, the Bible tonic is good for
the brain too!

Get
hold of a Bible reading calendar and follow its plan strictly. Consider the day
without the Bible ill-spent. Begin and end the day with the Bible. Then the day
will be good and the night sweet (Psa 42:8).

Highway
of Holiness

The
main burden of Jesus for His disciples was their sanctification. He knew the
tool was Godís Word. Therefore He prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them by
Your truth. Your word is truth" (Jn 17:17). He declared them clean because
of His words they had received (Jn 15:3).

The
Word of God is pure like silver purified seven times (Psa 12:6). It stands for
whatever is true, noble, just, lovely, good, virtuous and praiseworthy. But it
strikes against malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy and evil speaking (1 Pet 2:1,2).
It is an antidote for "errors... secret faults... presumptuous sins... and
great transgression" (Psa 19:7-13). The Holy Bible makes a holy people.

Nothing
convicts us of our sin as the Word of God. It has made kings to tear their
clothes (2 Ki 22:11) and people to weep bitterly (Neh 8:9). Itís a mirror that
exposes (Js 1:23-25). Itís the scalpel in the hands of our Great Physician
(Heb 4:12,13).

Sin
will keep us from the Bible or the Bible will keep us from sin! (Psa 1:1,2;
119:104, 128). The Bible is not to inform but to transform us. An African woman
was asked if she enjoyed reading her new Bible. She replied, "Sir, I am not
reading this Book. The Book is reading me!" Yes, let the Bible search our
hearts. Its detergent effect is deeply refreshing. Through the law and the
testimony, that is through teaching and examples, the Bible tells us how to
please God (Isa 8:20; 1 Cor 10:5,11). Even if a fool walks on this Highway of
Holiness, he shall not go astray (Isa 35:8; Psa 119:165).

Sword
of the Lord

The
devil was after Jesus to defile and deviate Him. But he was defeated. The secret
was the "It-is-written" sword Jesus swished (Mt 4:4,7,10). He did not
depend on His own strength or wisdom.

Christís
temptations in the wilderness are representative. They speak of the three
primary enemies we are to fight against. "The lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes and the pride of life." These can be abated only when the Word
of God abides in us (1 Jn 2:14-16).

Bondage
to sin is the worst slavery. In vain will we seek deliverance without the sword
of the Word. Jesus emphasized, "You shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free" (Jn 8:32-34). Satan tempts us in all subtle ways (Gen
3:1; 2 Cor 2:11). He gains footing when we yield to his sinful suggestions. But
he flees when we wield the two-edged sword. His attempt to ascend to the throne
in our life will be aborted (Rev 2:12,13).

The
discipline of continuous obedience to the Word strengthens our muscles to cast
down all anti-God arguments, and capture every ungodly thought (2 Cor 10: 4-6).
Godís Word in our mouth counteracts the enemyís floodlike invasion (Isa
59:19,21). Letís submit to the Word and speak it against the wicked one. The
victory is ours.

Unshakable
Foundation

In
the conclusion of His sermon on the mount Jesus spoke about two foundations, one
sure and the other sinking. The sure foundation is the Word of God. He said,
"Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and obeys them, I will liken him to a
wise man who built his house on the rock; the rain descended, the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, because it was
founded on the rock" (Mt 7:24-27).

All
our deeds must be backed by Godís Word. We dare not do anything thatís not
sanctioned in the Holy Writ. We cannot turn to the left or to the right of
"all that is written in the Book" (Josh 23:6). But men have
substituted traditions for truth, human reasoning for Godís power, and novel
doctrines for the wholesome words. They are all sinking sand. Jesus has
specifically warned us against these polar opposites.

a)
Traditions

Jesus
chided the religious leaders of His day, "You have made the commandment of
God of no effect by your tradition" (Mt 15:3-6).

In
every section of Christendom, there are unscriptural traditions which have crept
in unawares. Men love traditions more than the truth because they love ease. We
are called to contend for the truth. But we must count the cost. It will mean
loss of popularity and even life. The cross was the reward for Jesus when He
opposed the unscriptural traditions in the religious order of His day. Can our
lot be better? (Lk 23:31).

Like
Luther we must dare to protest unscriptural traditions, unafraid of the
religious hierarchy. The Bible does not get its authority from the Church, but
vice versa. Therefore what the Bible says is more important than what the Church
believes. In the beginning was the Word, not the Church!

b)
Human Reasoning

Human
reasoning is opposed to the miraculous and the supernatural power of God. The
Sadducees were rationalists. They did not believe in resurrection or angels.
They questioned Jesus on resurrection to baffle Him. But Jesus replied,
"You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God"
(Mt 22:23-33).

We
still have Christians and preachers who try to understand and expound the
Scriptures solely by human logic and worldly wisdom without God's power or
divine revelation. Apostle Paul outrightly rejected this philosophy (1 Cor
2:1-5). The word of God and the power of God should go together. One should not
be sacrificed for the other. In the words of David Pawson, "We must be both
kerygmatic and charismatic. God speaks and He works!"

c)
Novel Doctrines

In
the Olivet discourse Jesus warned, "Beware no one deceives you... Many
false prophets will rise up and deceive many" (Mt 24:4,11). The last days
are characterised by departure from faith and deception by demonic doctrines (1
Tim 4:1). The deceiving spirits are

more
active than ever. Cults are going mainstream. Preachers come up with funny
revelations and everyone gets a crowd. Unless with the help of the Spirit we
diligently check the teachings with the Word, we will be duped (Acts 17:11). We
have the promise, "The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth"
(Jn 16:12,13). Godís anointing on us grants us the discernment (1 Jn 2:26,27).
And we have ministers appointed and approved by God to shield us from various

winds
(Eph 4:11-14).

Textbook
on Prayer

No
one ever prayed like Jesus. His prayers were aromatic to God since He always
prayed according to the Scriptures.

Hereís
an example. When Peter cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest, Jesus
corrected Peter saying, "Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father,
and He will provide Me with thousands of angels? How then could the Scriptures
be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" (Mt 26:53,54). What a lesson!

Undoubtedly
a revival of praying is seen everywhere. But if proper teaching is absent,
strange fires will get in. Believers should be taught how to pray. Prayer must
be in line with the Scriptures. We are commanded to pray according to the will
of God (1 Jn 5:14). The Word of God is the will of God. We can ask God for
anything, but that anything must be within the revealed will of God.

Jesus
taught, "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what
you desire, and it shall be done for you" (Jn 15:7). Prayerless study will
be dry, but studyless prayer is dangerous. Saturation with the Scriptures is a
must for acceptable praying. Submission to the Scriptures is a condition for
answered prayers. Prayer otherwise is abominable (Prov 28:9).

It
was because Daniel prayed according to the Book that his prayers were heard
instantly. His prayer so pleased God that He released Michael the archangel to
overcome all obstacles and get the answer to Daniel fast (Dan 9:2,3; 10:10-14).

Similarly,
Wordless worship is worthless. It is the Word of God that reveals its Author and
makes Him known to us. The exposition of the Scriptures by the Risen Christ was
just how He had been prophesied and portrayed in each book. And that led the
disciples to worship and nonstop praise (Lk 24:25-27,44, 52,53). Worship is
meaningless when we do not "know" what we worship (Jn 4:22). But every
revelation or knowledge of God from the Scriptures makes us break forth into
singing, How great Thou art! When God revealed Himself to Moses, the latter
"made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped" (Ex
34:5-8).

Code
of Conduct

Without
the Bible we will be groping in the dark. Because, "the commandment is a
lamp, and the law is light" (Prov 6:23). Jesus summarised all the law into
just two commandments: Love God; Love man! (Mt 22:35-40). He also added,
"There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mk 12:31).

All
Bible knowledge must therefore lead us to love God with our all and love others
as ourselves. That which fails to motivate us towards a love-life can hardly be
called a Bible truth. In their spoken and written messages, the prophets and the
apostles consistently aimed at deepening our devotion to God and dilating our
duty to man. Here are two sample passages: Prophet Micah challenged the people,
"What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy and to
walk humbly with your God?" (Mic 6:8). Apostle Peter admonished, "Honour
all people; Love believers; Fear God" (1 Pet 2:17).

We
must not conclude any study or meditation of the Bible without asking these two
questions: What must I do to God? What must I do for man? The worldís regard
for the Bible will still go high when we live it out. The Bible lovers must be
Bible-livers also!

Buildersí
Plumbline

The
Scriptures were the blueprint and the plumbline for Jesus in building Godís
Kingdom. By reading Isaiah 61:1-3, He knew that His ministry was to preach the
gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to deliver the captives, to
recover sight to the blind and to liberate the downtrodden (Lk 4:16-21). His
every step was punctuated by Godís Word. When great crowds followed Him, He
warned them not to make Him popular (Mt 12:15-21). This He did in order to
fulfill Isaiah 42:1-4.

The
Bible is our guidebook for whatever type of ministry we are involved in. None of
our practices should violate the principles laid therein. How we build is more
important than what we build (1 Cor 3:12-15). Noah built the ark according to
Godís plan (Gen 6:22). Moses built the tabernacle according to God's pattern
(Ex 39:42,43). No athlete wins a medal if he does not compete according to the
rules (2 Tim 2:5).

Besides
direct teaching, the Bible abounds with biographies and autobiographies of men
and women who served God and humanity acceptably in their generation. They
educate us. We learn to be obedient like Noah (Gen 6:22), meek like Moses (Num
12:3), fearless like Joshua (Josh 10:40), outgoing like Deborah (Judg 5:7), steadfast
like Nehemiah (Neh 6:3), tactful like Esther (Es 5-7), worshipful like David
(The Psalms), bold like Isaiah (Rom 10:20a), prayerful like Daniel (Dan 6:10),
humble like John the Baptist (Lk 3:16; Jn 3:30), holy like Jesus (Heb 4:15),
good like Barnabas (Acts 11:24), sacrificial like Paul (1 Cor 9:1-12), helpful
like Phoebe (Rom 16:1), affectionate like Timothy (Phil 2:19,20) and
uncompromising like John (Rev 1:9). We also have negative examples like Balaam
and Demas to serve as warning. Thank God for the Bible which teaches us how to
and how not to do Godís work.

Our
Greatness!

God
called them "gods" to whom the Word of God came! (Jn 10:35). The chief
advantage of the Jews was that "to them were committed the revelations of
God" (Rom 3:1,2). Moses uttered the same truth thousands of years ago:
"What great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgement
as are in all this law which I set before you this day?" (Dt 4:8). We as
Christians are even more advantaged than the Israelites. They had only part of
the Scriptures. But we have the whole Bible! And that in so many languages and
versions. Hallelujah! Letís therefore make best use of this greatest tangible
gift we have received from God ó the Book of books!